With more and more people having easier access to recreational marijuana due to changing laws and attitude towards the drug, a study published in JAMA Psychiatry on Tuesday reports that the prevalence of using marijuana in the U.S. has doubled since 2001. There are currently 23 U.S. states that allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, four of which have changed the law to legalize the drug for recreational use.
However, according to the study, decriminalizing marijuana use has its consequences as the number of marijuana use disorders are blowing up. News Week explains that marijuana use disorder is a condition where "a person becomes dependent on the drug and uses it daily in excess, sometimes at the expense of taking part in other activities."
The researchers analyzed the data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions and National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions–III. The former was conducted from April 2001 to April 2002 and had 43,093 participants while the latter was collated from April 2012 to June 2013 with 36,309 participants.
According to the study, for every 10 Americans who uses pot in the past year, nearly three of them were diagnosed with a marijuana use disorder. This ratio translates to a whopping 6.8 million people in the U.S. alone.
Data from the surveys showed a significant increase in marijuana use from 4.1 percent in 2001-2002 to 9.5 percent in 2012-2013. The percentage of individuals with marijuana use disorder also escalated from 1. 5 percent in 2001-2002 to 2.9 percent in 2012-2013. The survey also showed a boost in marijuana use among women, blacks, Hispanics, southerners and middle-aged people. However, cases of marijuana use disorder among longtime pot users decreased from 35.6 percent in 2001-2002 to 30.6 percent in 2012-2013.
The figures above show that the upsurge in marijuana use disorders is not happening among those who have long been using pot, but is due to the changing laws and attitude towards marijuana, making it easier for people to access it.
Referring to the study's results, Deborah Hasin, the study's lead author from Columbia University in New York, said per Reuters, "What was quite clear is the prevalence of use among adults had more than doubled."
“Clearly not everyone is at risk for those problems but this risk is there. Research that could help us to identify what causes people to be vulnerable would be useful," she added as quoted by News Week.
The researchers wrote that there is a need for "a balanced presentation of the likelihood of adverse consequences of marijuana use."
"People should consider this information when they’re making choices about using marijuana, and the public should consider the information as they consider legalization," Hasin told Reuters.
